Wilbur Cortez Abbott (December 28, 1869 – February 3, 1947) was an American historian and educator, born at

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

Career

He graduated from

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

in 1892. Afterward, he studied at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

(1892–95) and at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1897 where he received the degree of B.Litt. In the United States, he worked at various institutions of higher learning including Cornell,

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Dartmouth,

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, before being hired in 1908 at

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. During his time at Yale he gained wide scholastic attention with the publication of ''The Expansion of Europe'' in 1917. In 1920 he was offered a position at Harvard University, in substitution of

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

. At Harvard Abbott became the Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History. There he also became a stock-holder in the Harvard Cooperative Society, and an Associate of

Lowell House Lowell House is one of twelve undergraduate Harvard House system, residential Houses at Harvard University, located at 10 Holyoke Place facing Mount Auburn Street between Harvard Yard and the Charles River. Officially, it is named for the Lowel ...

. Abbott was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1921. Abbott was an admirer of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

(a notable English military and political leader in the 17th century), owning memorabilia of his and authoring a bibliography book of Cromwell's works. Abbott advised Robert G. Albion in his notable doctoral thesis ''Forests and Sea Power: The Timber Problem of the Royal Navy'', published in 1926.

Author

He wrote *''Colonel Thomas Blood, Crown Stealer'' (1911) *''Expansion of Europe'' (1917) *''Colonel John Scott of Long Island'' (1918) *''Conflicts with Oblivion'' (1924) *''The War and American Democracy'' *''The New Barbarians'' (1925) *''A Bibliography of Oliver Cromwell'' (1929) *''New York in the American revolution'' (1929)

Honors

Around 1930 Abbott visited Finland, where

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

recounts "the Professor landed in Finland only to discover that he was something of a national figure. He was feted; he was invited to important function; his picture was printed in the papers. Professor Abbott has always been fond of Finland" In

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

, Abbott was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

by American historian Dana Carleton Munro.

Bibliography

''Essays in Modern English History in Honor of Wilbur Cortez Abbott'', Harvard University Press, 1941

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Wilbur Cortez 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers People from Kokomo, Indiana Wabash College alumni Cornell University alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Alumni of the University of Oxford Cornell University faculty University of Michigan faculty Dartmouth College faculty University of Kansas faculty Yale University faculty 1869 births 1947 deaths Historians from Indiana 20th-century American male writers